Return to Fall Fiver A Ghost Adventures Zak BagansOC fanfic
by AddisonBethNovak
Summary: Jessica Borden is a descendant of the ax wielding murderess Lizzie Borden, She gets a call that her mother has been hacked to death inside her locked house, the Borden B&B, the sight of the original murders. When Jess, who has her own secrets meets Zak Bagans and GAC, they are determined to figure out what happened. I do not own anything but the plot and Jess. I wish I owned Zak.
1. Chapter 1

Jessica Borden had a weird family tree, one she tried her best to hide or ignore but it wasn't always easy. People hear her last name and constantly asked her if she was related to the ax wielding murderess Lizzie Borden. She would laugh and say no but it wasn't true. She was indeed the great great granddaughter of the infamous killer. A fact that didn't sit well with very many people when they found out the truth. So every couple of years she would pick up and move again. Which is what brought her to her current predicament. She could stay and deal with the whispers and stares, or she could go back home to Fall River. Back to where people saw her grow up and knew she wasn't a crazy person. But that wasn't something she really wanted to do. Her mother had turned it into a bed and breakfast. She stayed in the attic not really wanting to socialize with anyone, she left that to the property manager. They gave tours and capitalized on the property's gruesome history. They even had, from what Jess understood to be a very popular paranormal TV show, do an investigation. It was apparently one of the shows highest rated episodes.

Jess never watched it. She knew what was in that house. She had grown up there. Felt the energy change from one moment to the next. Seen eyes stare at her from the shadows, heard the growls and hisses in the dark when they had never even owned a pet of any kind. As soon as Jess was old enough she left and never looked back.

Her decision was made for her, she received a call ten minutes later informing her that her mother had been found dead inside her home, it appeared she was killed with an ax. But all the doors were locked from the inside. The police were stumped. Jess' felt like an icy hand was twisting her insides, followed immediately by guilt. It was supposed to be her, not her mom. That's why she never wanted to go home. Her great great great grandfather was waiting for her...

Jess crumpled to the floor sobbing. Her hound mix, Leo padded into the room and sat in front of her and cocked his head as if to ask 'why are you leaking?' Jess grabbed hold of him and cried harder. She didn't know what upset her more, that her mother was dead or that she had to go back to that hell hole. Literally.

While she sat on the floor her cell phone rang again. She didn't recognize the number so she let it go to voicemail. When the unknown caller left a message Jess checked it in case it was the detective that supposed to get in touch with her. It wasn't. It was the property manager offering to buy the Borden Bed and Breakfast. She said she had been saving since she started working there and she wanted to meet in person if Jess was interested in selling, to talk about the price. Jess huffed and sat up a little straighter, she didn't care if the woman only had 30 dollars, Jess would sell it to her. She certainly didn't want a house where a countless number of her ancestors had been slaughtered or had killed themselves. That crazy woman could have it.

After calling the airline and getting a straight flight from Arizona to Massachusetts Jess packed a bag and went to bed. The next morning after arriving at the airport and putting Leo into his crate and making sure he was alright she sat down to wait for her flight. Once again a number she didn't recognize flashed across her screen. Deciding that it could be the woman who wanted to buy the house again, Jess answered. She was surprised to hear a deep male voice at the other end of the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, uh is this Jessica Borden?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"My name is Zak Bagans, I wanted to talk to you about buying your house."

"What makes you think I have a house to sell Mr. Bagans?" Jess asked annoyed. How'd this guy even get her number?

"Well this is a little awkward to be honest, your mothers murder is all over the internet, and I have reasons to believe that her murder may have been caused by something that cant be easily explained."

Jess nearly dropped the phone. She thought the same thing but she wasn't going to tell that to a complete stranger.

"Why do you think that Mr. Bagans?"

"Because ten years ago I led a paranormal investigation of you childhood home and we got some alarming evidence of a demonic presence in that house. A lot of it was so insane we didn't even show our producers. We kept it a secret. Some of it even concerns you."

"Wait, your producers? Excuse me if I seem rude actually, no, don't. My mother just died and you're telling a demon may have killed her. Who the fuck are you?" as Jess sat there waiting for his response she heard her flight be called to board over the loudspeaker.

"Look buddy, I have to go. I have a funeral to arrange."

"Your mother was a lovely woman Jessica, I'm sorry she's gone." He hung up. Jess felt the tears threatening to erupt from her eyes again and shook her head vigorously. She had things to do and it would be very counter productive if she broke down in the airport and missed her flight.

Jess jerked awake when the plane touched down. Her head was a little fuzzy from all the champagne she'd been plied with being that she flew first class (it was the only direct flight from Phoenix to Fall River). She got up to retrieve her carry on bag and discovered that she couldn't reach it. Stretching up on her tip toes and trying again she felt a hand on her shoulder, she whipped around ready to tell whoever it was to back off, she could do it herself, but her words died in her throat.

"Need a hand?" The guys was tall. Like over six feet tall. And built. Jess couldn't help but notice his strong arms, they seemed to be trying to bust out of his tight black T-shirt. His eyes were an intense dark blue, and when Jess looked deep enough she saw something there. Like the ocean, constantly turning and roiling and at any moment could erupt into chaos. The guy blinked and smiled down at her. Jess nodded in response to his question and looked at his t-shirt to distract her from his eyes.

"Reaper Wear huh? That's a little morbid don't you think?

"Morbid is my job Miss." he replied with a small smile handing her her bag. She shrugged the comment off not sure of what to make of it. Was he a mortician or something? Because he looked more like a male model.

"Thanks um?"

"Zak."

"Well thanks Zak, I'm Jess by the way. I uh... got to go get my dog."

"So do I, mind some company?" he asked shyly

"Oh. I'm not sure where it is."

"I am. I know this airport like the back of my hand." he held his hand up. Jess noticed a tattoo on one of his long fingers.

"I'm not very familiar with this airport, or flying my dog across the country." she was surprised this guy was as nice as her was gorgeous.

"You don't travel much I'm guessing." he queried as he and Jess made their way from the blacktop into the airport itself.

"No I do, I just prefer to drive. The germs on planes are insane, not mention the whole crashing thing." Zak chuckled, Jess liked the sound of it.

"So Zak, what brings you to Fall River, business or pleasure?" she asked trying to make small talk.

"Pleasure is my business." When Jess looked back at him blankly he blushed, realizing what he'd said.

"No! That came out wrong. My business is my pleasure. I'm here on business-" His explanation was cut short by crowd of screaming people with what looked like protest signs.

"What the hell is that about?"

"No idea." Zak answered walking faster and kind of ducking his head.

"Uh you can duck all day Sasquatch, you're still hard to miss." Jess told him trying to keep up with his long strides. He ignored her comment and walked even faster as they got closer to the crowd of people. Jess noticed that some of signs there were pictures, pictures of Zak, some had his name on them with hearts and things like "I would love for you to lock me down!" They were mostly teenage girls, all wearing Reaper Wear t-shirts just like his. Jess slowed down and grabbed at Zaks arm.

"Hey,hey slow down. What are all these people here for?" he looked embarrassed.

Then it clicked in Jess' head. Zak. Lock down. Reaper Wear. Screaming Fans. This was the guy from the tv show. The one that had investigated her house, who'd called her before she got on the plane. She stopped dead in her tracks as reporters with cameras came over and started bombarding Zak with questions.

"Zak, why are you back in Fall river?"

"Is it true another person was found hacked to death in the Lizzie Borden house?"

"Zak! Who's the girl?"

It was too much for Jess, her knees started to buckle and her head felt faint. The airport started to swim before her eyes. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Zak's chest as he picked her up, held her to him, and ran from the reporters.

—

Zak was concerned for the frail girl he met on the plane. She seemed to be so soft. He'd noticed her immediately in the airport in Phoenix, he didn't know why though. She didn't seem to stand out to anybody else, he'd checked. Her long black hair was tied back into a low ponytail and tumbled in a thick wave down her back and hung just above her hips. Her skin was a light tan olive color but this was Phoenix after all where people lived in the sun all year round with no escape. She was curvy, with nice a butt he noticed. A sweet, heart shaped face with big hazel eyes, rimmed by thick black lashes. Full pouting lips. She was gorgeous. But she didn't show it off like the girls in Vegas that he was used to. She wore a simple army green trench coat over a grey hooded zip up sweater, faded jeans and combat boots. One carry-on bag, she traveled light.

He had watched her for a good ten minutes while she checked her white and brindle spotted hound into the crate and made sure he was okay. Whispering soothing words to him through the bars of the crate. Promising to take him straight to the park when they landed. He found it funny because he'd just said same thing to his dog Gracie. He watched as the woman stood up and walked away frequently looking back over her shoulder at her dog. . Zak stared until he could no longer see her. His friend Aaron noticed him staring and elbowed him on the ribs.

"Remember Christina Zak." he grinned knowingly at him. It was true, Zak had a girlfriend, but a guy could look right? Shaking himself out of the stupor the girl had induced on him he remembered he had other stuff to worry about. He had to find a quiet place to call Jessica Borden.

Zak also noticed when he boarded the plane he walked right by the raven haired beauty and his heart kicked into high gear. The whole flight he kept trying to come up with reasons to talk to her but couldn't come up with anything that didn't sound creepy or stupid. So when he stood up at the end of the flight and saw she was having trouble getting her bag he seized the opportunity to talk to her. She seemed to be a little stand off-ish, Zak wondered if he was being too friendly, or if she recognized him from the show and was star struck. After she broke eye contact with him she seemed fine. She actually didn't seem to know who he was. Thrilled to be treated like a normal person instead of a celebrity, he was happy to show her where to pick up her dog, and completely ignored the look Aaron gave him as he walked off the plane with her right past him. Then Zak noticed the crowd of fans. He'd forgotten about them.

When the reporters started asking questions and Jess fainted Zak just reacted. He scooped her up and ran to find her dog.

—

When she came to Jess felt a wet slime coating her cheek. She sat up abruptly and everything started to spin. She felt a hand on her back steadying her. The slimy feeling was caused by Leo who was lying next to her licking her face. She sat up a little straighter and found that the hand on her back belonged to Zak.

"Don't you have fans to attend to ?" she spat at him.

"So you do know who I am." he asked with frown, startled by her cold tone.

"Sort of. I've never watched your show. You called me a few hours ago, before I left Phoenix." He looked at her like she was crazy.

"Maybe I should properly introduce myself." Jess stood up from the concrete floor and dusted off her jeans. Zak jumped up when she stuck out her hand.

"Hi I'm Jessica, Jess, Borden." He took her hand and shook it looking completely astounded. When his hand made contact with hers, a shock went through her whole body, then flashes through her mind like a movie montage. Zak running down a dark hallway and screaming for someone named Aaron, Zak looking through a camera screen and exclaiming about how he had seen a shadow figure, Zak playing with a white collie shepherd mix, Zak jumping when someone yelled snake Him crawling through dust and dirt underneath something it might have been a house. Zak kissing a beautiful blonde woman. And with these images came emotions any and every emotion he was having at the time the memory was made. She could feel his fear, his excitement from the first few memories and his joy when he was playing with the dog. Then came the most recent memory that he had an emotional attachment to. It was an image of her back in Phoenix when she was checking Leo into his crate. She felt his affection for her for the way she was comforting her dog. Felt how he felt that she was beautiful, perfection in a way.

Jess let go of his hand and stumbled back. She hated the way that when she came into contact with certain people he could see different parts of their past. It didn't happen all the time. Only when the person she touched had gifts of their own. Jess snorted, she wondered if this reality TV fame whore even believed half of what he was selling people on his show. But then remembering the emotions tied to his memories she knew he did. She assumed he already knew he was sensitive. If he knew about her gift he would probably piss himself. Wanting to see how he would react, Jess glanced around and casually asked,

"So where is Gracie?" Zak just smiled.

"I know you're psychic Jess." Now it was Jess' turn to be surprised.

"How?"

"I'll tell you later after we get to where we're staying."

"Where 'we're' staying? What do you mean?"

"Well you're going home I imagine, and I'm going to stay at my favorite B&B in Fall River and unless I'm very much mistaken, its the same place." Jess just stood and watched as Zak turned and walked off towards the exit. Deciding she had no other way to her place she grabbed Leo's leash and stalked off after Zak. When her turned and saw her following him he laughed.

When they got outside Jess saw a white van cordoned off by yellow caution tape and guarded by two police officers. She assumed it was to help keep rabid fans at bay. Zak ducked under the tape and waved for Jess to follow. When she reached the tape an officer stopped her.

"Nope. You stay back here." Jess stopped and turned to go back the way she came.

"It's alright, shes with come on." She heard Zak call to her. Feeling like a fool she turned around again and ducked under the tape ignoring the officer and pulled Leo with her.

Upon entering the van she saw it was full of camera equipment. Also there were four other people as well. All males. Which meant with her, Leo, Zak and Gracie, it was a tight fit. Jess squeezed in next to a guy with a shaved head and goatee. He moved closer to the window and extracted his hand from underneath a heavy black duffle bag and held it out to her.

"Hi, I'm Aaron. That's Nick, Jay,Billy and you met Zak already." He smiled warmly at her.

"Jessica Borden."

"No fucking way!" He exclaimed his brown eyes going wide, mouth hanging open like a bullfrog. Jess raised her eyebrows at Aaron at the same time as a rubber dog bone flew from the front of the van and hit him in the face.

"Dude, what the hell?" Zak reprimanded from the front seat.

"Sorry, just kinda slipped out. Did you know it was her when you were staring at her in Phoenix bro?" Aaron just couldn't stop saying the wrong the thing. this time it was Nick that threw something at him. It was a Powerbar.

"Dude, _shut up._ Do you have absolutely no concept of bro code? Or just a filter on your mouth in general?" Jess couldn't help but giggle, for being big TV stars these guys were so _normal._ It was like watching a bunch of sixth graders on field trip.

—

Zak wanted to strangle Aaron. The guy had absolutely no tact. Zak wasn't the smoothest talker but he'd learned after ten years of interviewing people how to act accordingly. Apparently Aaron had learned nothing.

Still in shock at finding out who Jess actually was Zak stared out the windshield as they made their way through town to the Jess' house. He really didn't want her to go back there but it's not like he could tell he was going to stay in her family home but she couldn't because it was too dangerous. She had to know better than anyone what was in that house. That's probably why she was never in Fall River, and with a sinking feeling in his stomach he remembered why she was there in the first place. Her mother's murder. So that was why she passed out when the reporters were asking questions. She was obviously still working through the fact that her mother was dead. It made sense now. Another guilty stab in his stomach occurred when he thought maybe Jess would let them investigate to see what happened. No. That was too much to ask of anyone after one of their parents just died. But Zak couldn't help thinking from a paranormal investigators perspective. If her mother died in such a sudden and violent way there was a good chance her spirit was still in the house. Trapped and confused. A lot of people would be concerned about the living after a death, helping them heal and move on. Not Zak he wanted to help the souls of the departed. They were the ones he wanted to help move on. Nobody should be trapped in the place they died. Especially if that death occurred violently and at the hands of someone else.

Evil entities were a different story all together. Zak didn't care what their stories were really, if they could find out during an investigation that was great. It had never really happened though. What he wanted to know was why they wanted to stay and hurt people. He thought a lot of it had to do with the fact that they were scared of being judged for the sins they committed in life. They didn't want to go to hell, so why not stay in the place they know. Often Zak wondered if constantly contacting the dead was a possible and sin. Disturbing their rest, putting his crew and friends at risk just because he had to know what was out there, if there was something more after we died. Nick and Aaron were happy just proving that ghosts were real. Zak wasn't. He needed to know if there was more.

A low pitched bark brought him out of his thought coma, it wasn't Gracies' bark


	2. Chapter 2

A low growl roused Zak from his thought coma. Looking in the vans rearview mirror, he saw Leo standing in the back seat next to Jess, (which was quite a feat

considering the cramped quarters) teeth bared, fur bristled, staring out the windshield. They'd arrived at the B&B.

Zak shot a look at Jess and saw she was pale and shaking. Nick also noticed and put an arm around her. Zak felt an unusual feeling in his stomach. He didn't like Nick

touching her.

"Jess if you don't want to stay here I'll pay for your hotel room for as long as you need." Zak offered turning in his seat to look directly at her. She shook her head

and shrugged off Nicks arm. Zak felt better immediately.

"I'm fine." She replied with a steely glint to her eye. Her face held no emotion, though she was still pale.

She's stronger than I thought. Zak thought to himself as he opened his door to exit the van. He looked up at the simple dark green clapboard building. Anyone who

didn't know the story would assume it was just another charming inn, with an old timey feel. But once you walked inside you were assaulted with the house's brutal

history. Crime scene photos a century old adorned the walls. The actual ax used in the murders all those years ago was encased in glass and hung on the wall in the

main sitting area above the fire place.

Zak expected to see police tape and what not around the building but there was none. It was like nothing had happened. Like a woman wasn't murdered there under

suspicious circumstances a week ago. The only difference was the sign said 'No Vacancy until Further Notice'. Zak was lucky enough to get rooms for him and the

GAC given the current situation. He had developed a close relationship with Valarie Borden, Jess' mom, during their previous investigation of the inn. Relieved that

there was no crowd of screaming fans, or reporters waiting for the Ghost Adventures Crew Zak let go of the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He didn't

think Jess could take the reporters and their questions again.

Zak immediately chastised himself for that thought. He didn't know Jess, it was arrogant to assume what she could, and couldn't handle. People automatically

assumed Zak was just another reality Tv douche bag with overly gelled hair and a need for attention, he'd seen the comments people made on the internet about him

and his team, and how they "faked" evidence just for ratings. The negative feedback used to make Zak's blood boil but now it just fueled his desire to prove everyone wrong.

Unloading the van proved to be a challenge, the equipment itself took at least 20 minutes to unpack and organize. Within that time Zak watched as a sky blue VW

bug pulled into the small parking lot, a blonde girl at the wheel. When she stepped out of the car Nick gave Zak a look, the girl was almost identical to Christina

except she was the girl next door version. She got out of her car and leaned against her door watching the GAC's every move. Zak couldn't help but notice she

watched him more than Nick, Aaron, Billy or Jay.

*/*

Jess watched from the top floor as Kira pulled into the lot in her blue Beetle. She'd had it as far back as Jess could remember. It was her aunts originally. They had

spent many a hour in the ancient car's front seat (before either of them could drive) debating their future. Kira had wanted to be a veterinarian, but ended up in law

school after she found that she excelled on the debate team in high school. Jess had always wanted to be writer or an archeologist, she loved history. The more she

had learned about it the more she wanted to build a time machine and go back to a time when men were honorable and women could surprise you at any given

moment.

Looking around her room, the one she had since she was twelve, she started to remember the horrible things that had happened to her. The eyes in the darkness in

the corner by her closet, the cold phantom hands wrapping around her throat when she told the eyes to go away. The feeling of her lungs burning for oxygen, her

breath being sucked out of her. All the while a pair of crimson eyes with white pupils stared at her. A black mass in the already dark night. But it was a different kind

of dark, inky, substantial in a way. When Jess had tried to fight back in the past her hand found a slight purchase but not much. The shadow looked solid but it

wasn't. There was nothing to fight. It had made her feel helpless. It was shy she had left. Well, one of the reasons. The other reason was why she had brought gloves

with her. Which she had put on immediately after getting out of the van. Everything she touched gave her a brief glimpse into the past. Considering where she was it

was best to keep her mitts covered. That had earned her a knowing grin from Zak that made her stomach flutter.

Jess unpacked her bag, a couple changes of clothes, a small cosmetics bag, her computer and a white box on the bottom that held the dress she was going to wear to

her mothers' funeral. Her room was small, but well lit it consisted of a double bed her dresser ( which still held her clothes from high school) and a desk with an

ancient computer and stereo. Hers was the only bedroom in the house with two windows. It was exactly the same as it did the day she had left eight years ago. Her

mom had kept it locked and allowed no one inside. It was like a memorial, except Jess wasn't dead. Her mother had understood why she had to go but that hadn't

meant that she liked it. Jess took a moment to remember her mother, to let all the emotions she had held in for days take her away for a moment….

Valerie Borden was a bright positive woman, some had even called her a social butterfly. She'd been involved with numerous charities and community groups before

they moved into the house when Jess was twelve. Valerie was institutional in organizing fundraisers for the children's after school program which she volunteered at

regularly. She loved hosting dinner parties, going to museums and libraries on the weekends, always with Jess. A couple months after the move she became a home

body. Never wanted to go anywhere or have people visit. She'd stay in her attic room for days even weeks sometimes. Jess worried about her but every time she had

asked what had changed her mother would get teary eyed and say nothing was wrong. For a while Jess thought it must have been something she'd done. So she had

buckled down at school, tried out for sports teams and plays. She did whatever she could to try to make her mom happy again. Jess would wake up early on

weekends to make her mother breakfast in bed before she went to soccer practice only to get to Valerie's door and find it locked. She'd cover the tray with a towel

and leave it just outside the door. Departing the house with tears in her eyes. When she got to high school and nothing had changed Jess got angry. Started skipping

classes and smoking. Detentions, meetings with the principle, not that her mother had showed any interest in her daughters sudden change from honor student to

delinquent. But the look on her mothers face the last time she saw her was what stuck in Jess' mind. Pushing the thoughts away Jess decided to change her clothes,

they smelled like airplane, or at least she thought they did. She traded her jeans and coat for a pair of black yoga pants and a white loose fitting t shirt. She just

wanted to be comfortable. Well as comfortable as she could be in the house that haunted her dreams.

She took her hair out of the pony tail and ran her hands through it taking deep, slow breaths. She had to pull herself together, get this house sold and get back to

Phoenix. The only problem with selling was who to sell it to. She knew why property manager wanted it, but she still hadn't heard Zak's reasons. The thought of that

conversation made her break out in goosebumps. The guy made her nervous, in every sense of the word. Which was strange considering he was so sweet. To her at

least. But she was getting ahead of herself. She didn't know Zak, sure she'd seen some of his memories and felt some emotions but if she had learned anything from

her gift it was that people had many different sides, and the most insane were the ones that were the most adept at hiding it.

She decided to Google him, and oh, the stuff she found. He was animal lover, bestselling author, produced music, was deathly afraid of snakes, dolls, heights and his

show had been the topic of a lot of controversy in the para normal world. When she stumbled across a YouTube channel entitled Aaron's Vlog she knew she had found

the mother lode. It was all 5 to 10 minute clips of the Ghost Adventures crew when they weren't filming for the show they were just filming for the fun of it. A lot of

them featured Zak heavily, Jess watched him chase invisible leprechauns, get scared by a donkey, eat clams, slip on ice, follow unsuspecting people down the street

and then hide behind the nearest object when the people he was stalking turned around. All in all the guy was a complete goof. He also had a girlfriend and had been

with her for the last two years. Jess didn't know how long she had been watching the clips, and was startled when someone knocked on her door. She quickly

slammed the laptop shut and opened her door. It was Kira.

"You know you have the entire Ghost Adventures Crew in your house right?" she asked breathlessly. Apparently Kira was familiar with pack of nerds that was invading

her house. But Jess was thankful Kira knew her well enough to not bring up her mom.

"Yea, I met them at the airport. They gave me ride here."

"They gave you ride! I'm so jealous, I'd love for Zak to give me ride." Kira purred.

"So you're a fan huh?"

"Obviously, I haven't talked to them yet though, I just came up here to find you."

"Zak's got a girlfriend, but you already knew that didn't you?"

"Of course I do, but she is in Vegas and he's here. So you never know what could happen." She fluffed her blonde hair in the mirror that was hanging on the back of

Jess' closet door. Jess smirked to herself, same old Kira. If there was a hot guy within 20 feet of her she wanted him. And Zak was definitely the definition of hot as

far as Jess was concerned. She'd seen his girlfriend, she was blonde stick thin and gorgeous. Just like Kira. The complete opposite of her. But if the last hour or so

was any indication Zak didn't find Jess unattractive, he stole glances at her the whole ride to her house even though she pretended not to notice.

Jess got up from the bed slowly. She didn't want to go downstairs. Granted all evidence of her mother's murder had been cleared out and cleaned up, but that didn't

make any difference to Jess. She knew if she sat down cleared her mind and listened she would be able to see what had happened to her mother in her mind. She

just wasn't ready for that yet.

Jess descended the stairs like she was walking to the gallows. She could hear Zak and Aaron in the living room talking about where they wanted to go in town for

dinner. Deciding to address the elephant in the room Jess walked in and asked Zak to gather the rest of his team in the living room. He came back about five minutes

later with Nick, Billy and Jay in tow. The all stood in a semi-circle around her and looked at her expectantly. Kira came in a second later, stood behind Jess and placed

a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I don't want to talk about my mom just yet, so if everyone could just act like nothing has happened, at least until tomorrow I would really, really appreciate it." She

said in a rush looking down at the carpet.

"Sure Jess whatever you say goes." Zak responded immediately. Jess relaxed a bit and introduced Kira to everyone. She watched as Kira batted her eyelashes at Zak

and told him how big of fan she was. Zak smiled at her politely and thanked her, but then his eyes flashed to Jess as if asking if it was okay that he was talking to

Kira. She found that odd, flattering, but odd. She had just met Zak, he didn't need her permission to do anything.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, Zak, what exactly is the difference between an incubus and succubus?" Jess asked, and upon seeing his horrified

expression she cracked her first genuine smile in days.


	3. Chapter 3

Zak wanted the floor to open up and swallow him, which was a strange reaction considering millions of people had already laughed at him for confusing the two spirits

in an episode from years ago. He had been hoping he could go at least 24 hours without Jess seeing all the stupid shit he'd done. That must have been what she was

doing upstairs. Googling him. He was also willing to bet a hundred dollars there had been some YouTube in that time as well. Damn internet. Then he saw Jess' smile

and the embarrassment evaporated, he'd gladly confuse entities for the rest of his life it made her smile like that. Nick and Aaron of course lost it and had to lean

against each other for support they were laughing so hard. It was number one on their list of Zak's dumbest moments.

"A succubus is a female entity that feeds off sexual arousal, and an incubus is the same thing only male." He responded, his expression resembling that of a kicked

puppy. Jess laughed a sweet melodious laugh that Zak was pretty sure he would never get tired of hearing. He was brought out of his thought by his cell phone

ringing to the tune of Theory of a Deadman's The Bitch Came back. Christina was calling. Nick and Aaron exchanged a glance and then looked at Zak with identical

looks of pity.

"Uh I have to answer this." Just as he got outside and went to swipe to answer when the phone chimed that he'd missed the call. Great, he thought to himself. Now

she's going to be twice as pissed. He quickly hit the redial button and braced himself for Christina's fury. She picked up immediately.

"Zak what the fuck?! Why didn't you answer when I called?"

"Chris, I called you right back, less than ten seconds later, I was in the middle of something."

"Oh you were in the middle of something? Like between the legs of some dark haired chubby bitch." Christina asked shrilly.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Zak was not in the mood to be interrogated for his alleged cheating. Again. She had accused him of sleeping with every female

he interviewed. A couple months back she'd even had a breakdown about him fucking Nick. He had broken up with her for three weeks because of that. She then

proceeded to beg him to take her back, she had even threatened suicide. He took her back out of pity, hence the ringtone.

"You're all over TMZ and Twitter, running through the airport with some fat cunt in your arms." She shrieked. It had just registered with Zak that Christina had called

Jess a "chubby bitch" and a "fat cunt" within thirty seconds. He was enraged. Chris had no idea who Jess was, and the fact that after two years she still didn't trust

him was enough to make him insane.

"Seriously after two years of unwavering loyalty, you're still pulling this shit? That girl in my arms was Jessica Borden, her mother was killed last week in the Lizzie

Borden house. You remember that right? The whole fucking reason I'm in Massachusetts. She passed out at the airport when the reporters brought up her mom."

Christina was silent. A rare occurrence, so Zak continued with is tirade, months of repressed anger pouring out, he was so immersed in it he didn't notice Jess, Kira

and the entire G.A.C gathering in the open doorway behind him.

"I, I didn't know." Chris stuttered.

"No you didn't, but that didn't stop you from acting like a complete psychopath once again did it? I'll tell you what, since you're so sure that I'm cheating on you

whenever I get the chance, I'm going to start doing it. Then you'll have a reason to be a bitch." Zak hit the end button so hard he cracked the screen. He then

proceeded to throw it at the ground as much force as he could. Pieces flew everywhere as the phone shattered on impact.

"Awe bro now she's gona blow up our phones trying to get a hold of you." Aaron whined

"Block her number." Zak shrugged and bent down to retrieve the fragments of his now ruined phone.

"You mean like you could have done instead of smashing a poor defenseless phone?" Kira chimed in. He ignored her. He wasn't a fan of the blonde, with her overly

excitable eyelashes and fake simpering smile. He'd seen it a thousand times before. Just another groupie who wanted to have sex with him so she could tell her

friends she bagged a famous guy. He used to love it when women threw themselves at him. Now it was an annoyance that hindered their investigations. That was

why they had stopped posting on the internet where they were going to be next. Especially once Nick got married and Zak started dating Christina. Aaron was the

only bachelor left on the crew.

Zak grabbed for the last piece of his phone when his hand collided with someone else's. The shock he felt through his body told him it was Jess, and sure enough

when he looked up he met her concerned hazel gaze.

"I'm fine, it was long overdue." He answered her unasked question, feeling lighter than he had in months. She still looked unconvinced so he flashed her a

mischievous smile and grabbed for her hand again. She let him after a slight hesitation, he watched as her pupils dilated so far that her eyes looked black and he

knew she was seeing something, he pushed his memories of his relationship with Chris to the forefront of his mind and hoped she could see what he was trying to

show her, after about a 30 seconds she dropped his hand and looked up at him.

"Wow, bitch is crazy huh?" he nodded happy that he was able to direct his thoughts and memories into something that she could understand. Someone cleared their

throat loudly and Zak realized he and Jess were standing very close and just staring at each other. He stepped back and shook his head slightly.

"So, who wants to go out and celebrate Zaks new single status?" Kira suggested brightly. Normally he wouldn't go out for such a stupid reason but he figured they all

needed to let off some steam.

"That actually sounds like a good idea. Nick call the wife and get permission." Zak teased. Nick rolled his eyes but got out his phone anyway while Aaron turned to

Kira and asked where the best place was to get wasted.

"The Silk Room." She answered immediately, eyes on Zak.

"Well I guess its settled. We'll all meet back here in an hour?" Zak asked taking the lead since it was his "celebration" after all.

"You guys have a good time. I'm just going to stay here and do…something." Jess said with a shrug.

"Oh come on Jess when is the last time we went out together? Dylan's a bartender at the Silk room…" Kira sang the last bit tauntingly. Jess reacted to the name by

turning red and shifting her weight from one for to the other. Then she cracked a devilish smile at her friend. Being empathic Zak knew she was suddenly nervous and

excited, all traces of her earlier reluctance gone. Who was this guy?

"Fine, but you can't leave my side the whole night. I don't have the will power to turn him down tonight."

"Deal." Kira squealed. Then the girls took off upstairs. Nick nudged Zak in the ribs.

"So what going on between you and Glenda the good witch?" he asked eyes intent.

"Nothing. I just want this house."

"You're staring at her, getting jealous, and breaking up with your girlfriend all because you want the house?"

"I don't get jealous." He snapped going to the van to grab his duffel. Nick watched him go with a smile and a shake of his head. Poor guy never could tell the

difference between jealousy and anger.


	4. Chapter 4

Zak was fuming. He didn't even know why. He ripped the door open on the van and grabbed the rest of his belongings. He should be over the moon, two weeks without Christina badgering him to take her back. He really should have just blocked her number instead of destroying his phone. Thankfully the memory card with all his contacts and pictures was intact. All he had to do was buy a new phone and pop it in. He turned around to find Billy walking towards him.

"What's up man?"

"Nothing just grabbing the rest of my stuff. I want to take Gracie for a walk before we go."

"Did you ask Jessica about investigating again?"

"Not yet. I don't think she's into it." He answered not looking at his friend, he knew that they were obligated by the network to try to get some footage of the inn post murder, and maybe even get an interview in with Jess. They were used to Zak getting what they needed for ratings, but they had never encountered anyone like Jess before. Someone that didn't know or care who the Ghost Adventures Crew was. Some one that wasn't enamored by Zak's blue eyes and muscles.

"We could set up a few cameras discreetly, she wouldn't even know they were there…"

"Billy are you stupid? She's a psychic, she'd know." Zak spat, anger returning at full force. He didn't want to manipulate this girl, if she wanted their help they would give it, if not they would leave. He didn't even want to think about what she would do if she stumbled across any hidden cameras in her house. Some psychics had the ability to attack you mentally and make you relive your worst memories, something Zak was pretty sure Jess could do if she put her mind to it. And he was not eager to be on the receiving end of that.

"Right sorry. Need any help with your stuff?"

"Nah I got it." He replied more calmly. "Sorry for snapping at you dude, don't know what came over me."

"It's this house bro, we all feel it."

Zak pondered that as Billy went back to the house. He had a point, the energy in the house was erratic. It was agitated. More than the last time he was here. In the past when he'd investigated it, it was a hibernating beast grumbling and now it was fully awake and pissed at being disturbed. He turned back toward the front of the house and had the overwhelming urge to look up. When he did he saw figure illuminated in the attic window. A room he knew for a fact was locked and only Jess had the key. He looked quickly at the windows of the floor below and saw lights on in what he believed to be Jess' room two shadows dancing back and forth behind the curtain. Jess and Kira. So who was in Valerie's room?

Zak dropped all of his stuff and bolted into the house. There was really only one explanation for the figure in Valerie's room but he didn't want to say anything just yet. Running past Aaron and Nick he flung himself up the 2 flights of stairs and thundered down the hallway to the only door in the corridor. He twisted the knob but it was locked just like he thought it would be. He hammered on the door trying with everything he had (which not to be arrogant, was a lot) to force it open. Finally when he heard footsteps behind him coming up the stairs, the knob twisted and the door opened easily.

A blast of icy air hit him in the face along with smell of blood. He stuck his head in slowly not knowing what to expect. It was dark and the one window didn't help to lessen the darkness. He could feel someone in there. Just as was about to step inside he felt a hard tug on the back of his shirt.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" he whirled around and found himself looking down at Jess' furious face.

"You just couldn't help yourself could you? Really? I let you stay here and this what you do? Break into my dead mother's room!"

"I didn't break into anywhere, the door opened for me."

"Oh really?" she shoved past him, took hold of the door and examined it. Her whole body suddenly went rigid, then limp as she crumpled, Aaron caught her before she hit the floor. He laid her gently down as Kira knelt down and unceremoniously slapped Jess in the face a few times.

"It's cool, this happens sometimes. Don't freak out. She'll be fine a minute." Zak watched as Jess' eyes rolled back and forth under her lids, her breathing fast and sharp. He wanted to comfort her but new if he touched her he would end up doing more harm than good. When her eyes snapped open he could have cried he was so relieved.

She got up from floor slowly with the help of Kira. She was still shaking a bit and there was a fine sheen of sweat on her face.

"Should have thought that through a little better." She mumbled looking back towards the door. The door in question did indeed look like it had been kicked in, the side was busted, splinters of wood sticking out at odd angles.

"Jess I didn't do that I swear, I was outside and I saw someone in the window. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Sure. I want you out of here in the morning. The rest of the guys can stay but you need to go."

"Jess, you could easily find out if I'm telling the truth." He held his hand out to her. She took a step back and glared at him.

"Fine. If you want to sit here in denial and act like there is nothing going on here even after you just fainted from the some psychic attack or whatever the fuck it was we all just witnessed, then that's fine with me." Even though it wasn't. He needed to protect her. All of them. The house wasn't safe. But she _knew_ that, why was she acting this way?

He stomped back down the hallway his mind racing. Not coming up with anything useful he took Gracie for a walk around the bock trying to relax. So she didn't want his help that was fine. It wasn't the first time someone had rejected his assistance when dealing with a severe haunting. He focused on Gracie's energy. How happy she was to be in a new place with new smells and he instantly felt lighter. He could go home tomorrow if he wanted to. Take the rest of the two weeks to just relax and chill at his house. It was pretty obvious Jess wasn't going to sell him the inn. He would call his producers when he got back and tell them it was a no go and he was taking the rest of the time to research new projects. Mind made up he went back to the inn and got ready to go out.

By the time he got the living room everyone else was already ready to go. Aaron in his usual clothes, he didn't dress up for anything. Nick was in a button down and jeans. Kira was sporting a tight deep purple mini dress that hugged her body like a second skin. It looked good he had to admit. She had braided her blonde hair and completed the look with a pair of black stilettos. She noticed him checking her out and gave him a sultry smile. He gave her a small smile back. If he could hit that before he left the trip wouldn't be a complete waste he decided. And she was clearly willing.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jess stood at the bathroom sink clutching the sides of the basin for dear life, she took a few deep breaths before looking up into the mirror. A face she barley recognized looked back at her. Her eyes were lined with black liner winging out from the outer corner giving her a cat like predatory look. Her cheeks shimmered and her lips were painted blood red. Kira had insisted she wear black jeans and red top she hadn't donned since high school. The jeans were ripped up at the thighs and flared slightly from mid-calf to the end of the leg. A white leather belt with metal studs and her old red sneakers completed the outfit. She looked hot she decided flippantly, not wanting to dwell on the way she was almost spilling out of her top or the way her jeans hugged her butt a little too tight. Grabbing her leather jacket and shrugging into it she bounded down the stairs to the living room where everyone else had gathered. Zak shot her look as soon as she entered the room, his blue eyes were laser focused on her. But that could be anger since she had just kicked him out. She knew he didn't break the door but being angry was easier than dealing with the truth. It wasn't fair. And she would talk to him later at the club once she had a few drinks in her. Liquid courage and all that. Swallowing her pride was easier once she had swallowed copious amounts of vodka. The way he looked at her though maybe she could talk to him before they left so there would be no awkwardness. He wore black jeans, a t-shirt and a black canvas jacket that had straps crossing the front, the collar upturned. Fingerless gloves on his hands, again black. He looked dangerous. The definition of a bad boy, the guy your mom warned you about. He looked good. But once Zak walked over to Kira and put his arm around her waist, leaned in and whispered something in her ear that made her squeal like a school girl Jess doubted he would talk to her any time soon. It was so juvenile what he was doing, flirting with her friend to try to make her jealous. Her anger flared and she took a dep breath to calm herself.

"Billy is driving us in the van, Aaron took Leo out and that was a sight to behold I'll tell you. He almost face planted like four times."

"Dude, he's just insane, follows that nose and does not listen for shit."

"Maybe he could sense he wasn't in the presence of an Alpha male." Jess snapped as she glared at Aaron. Insult her all you want but do not insult her dog. Aaron put his hands up in surrender.

"Jess that was a little much considering he did take your dog out for you." Kira said softly still tucked into Zak, who was looking pointedly in the opposite direction.

"You're right. I'm sorry Aaron. Thank you for taking him out, I know he can be a handful."

Aaron smiled and nodded at her.

"I'll make it up to later at the bar." she added with a wide smile and wink. Tossing her hair back and peeking over her shoulder to see Zaks expression. Well he wasn't focused on the wall anymore. Instead he was staring at the floor with his fists clenched. Jess smirked to herself. Looks like two can play the jealousy game.

"Well let's go." Nick clapped and headed out the door.

When they got to the club it was packed, but it was a Saturday night so that was to be expected. When the bouncer saw Zak they were immediately brought up to the front of the line and ushered into the club. The group broke apart upon entering wanting to escape the awkward tension of the ride there. Zak, Billy, Nick and Kira went to the darkened V.I.P booth while Aaron headed to the bathroom. Everyone knew Zak and Jess were mad at each other which increased the level awkward to new levels. Kira and Aaron tried to start conversations during the ride but when either Zak or Jess was presented with an opportunity to join in the conversation they would either say the least amount of words possible or not respond at all. It was as though a switch had been flipped. Jess made her way to the bar against her better judgement. She knew who she would find there but wanted to be as far away from Zak and Kira as the club would allow. Jess knew she was going lose Zak to Kira. She usually didn't compete with the blonde for guys but Zak was different for some reason, she wouldn't resent her friend but that didn't mean she had be happy for her at this exact moment. So much for making things up to Aaron.

The music was loud but when you got closer to bar it wasn't so bad. And the bar was where Jess wanted to be tonight, not dancing, drinking. She made her way like a ninja dodging drunk men trying to get her attention, ducking under drink trays being carried by beautiful leggy women. When she finally got there she flopped down on the stool and was greeted by a vodka and soda before she even had time to look up and open her mouth. Jess looked up into the grey blue eyes of Dylan, a guy that left her feeling used but satisfied every time he was done with her. She knew what he was all about and maybe that just what she needed. A distraction. Jess smiled at him and shimmied out of her coat fully aware on what the motion would cause her breasts to do. Stealing a look at Dylan from under her lashes she saw him look at her chest and absentmindedly lick his lips. Jess smirked to herself before tossing her curtain of long dark hair back over her shoulder and fixing him a sultry gaze.

"I didn't order this sir." She said in mock confusion.

"I'm sorry miss, you looked like a vodka girl to me." He replied playfully.

"What do I owe you?" Jess asked in breathless tone, stirring her drink suggestively with her finger. She didn't need to liquor to be brazen in front of Dylan, he knew all her dirty little secrets. Well, all but one. They had been playing this game since they were teenagers. Dylan leaned in towards her and tucked a stray lock of ebony hair behind her ear.

"Why don't we talk about that when my shift is over." He answered staring openly at lack of fabric covering her chest.

"I see you landed your dream job." She gestured around the club. Dylan was always happiest in a crazy atmosphere. If there were pretty girls and chaos he was in his element. He could diffuse a fight with a single joke and calm a crying girl with a smile and hug. Not the conventional ladies' man but there was something about him women found irresistible, and Jess was no exception. He was about to answer when he looked up and Jess felt a tap on her shoulder. Thinking it was Kira she jumped up and turned around nearly knocking the person, guy, over.

"Oh my god this is not my day I'm so sorry are you okay…." She trailed off once she realized who she had bumped into

"Kevin?" she whispered.

"Hey Jess, how are you?" Kevin asked with a small smile, embarrassed. Wasn't she was the one who had barreled into him?

"I've been better, things have been…hard." He put a hand on her arm and she jerked it away quickly.

"Right, sorry I forgot."

"Well that's to be expected when you bail on 6 years of friendship with no warning or explanation." She replied coolly glaring at him. The tension was not lost on Dylan, who chose at that moment to tell Kevin if he wasn't going to order anything he should move along so someone who actually wanted a drink could take his spot at the bar. He wasn't nice about it either. Peculiar, Dylan was easy going and not the territorial type, as far as Jess knew he'd never even had a girlfriend. Oh there had been plenty of girls vying for that title but none of them had received it. Jess was the only one that ever met his dad. She and Dylan had even tried to get their parents together when they were kids well before her and Dylan took their friendship in a different direction when they turned 18.

Kevin looked away and pushed a hand through his hair awkwardly and ordered a beer. Jess wanted the floor to swallow her, she didn't want or need Kevin in her life right now, she had accepted the fact the he didn't want anything to do with her anymore and here he was. It wasn't fair, fate just couldn't resist fucking with her lately. An ominous feeling began to grow inside her, as though everything was just beginning to get out of control. Deciding she couldn't do anything about it now she turned back to the bar hoping Kevin would go away. No such luck, he took the empty stool beside her and angled his body towards hers. Jess moved her hair so that it was like a curtain between her and him. Go away! She thought at him fiercely. Sure Dylan wasn't exactly a knight in shining armor but they had kept in touch even after she moved, he had even flown out to see her a couple times.

"Well this is awkward, another drink Jess?" Dylan asked casually. Jess chuckled and nodded to him. She could feel Kevin next to her and the tension coming off the man was really starting to irritate her, there was no reason for him to be here.

"I'll get it, I owe you that at least." Kevin ordered her two tequila shots, something she hadn't had in years.

"What do you want Kevin?" she bit out at him suddenly anger getting the better of her though she took the shots and drained them all the same.

"I wanted to talk about how we, how I ended things."

"Let me stop you right there. We both know where we were headed before you did what you did, but let me perfectly clear, we will never be that way again."

"I know that but I just wanted to make sure you understood why I ran out on you."

"I get why, you think I'm a freak. It really is ok, it's not like it was the first time someone found out about my 'gift' and took off, why do think my mom never dated?" she laughed at her own sad little joke. When Kevin literally ran away from her that night it was like something shattered inside her. Jess never opened up to anybody after that. That wasn't about to change either. Jess put her elbows up on the bar to support her suddenly heavy head. Kevin threw his hands up suddenly in frustration.

"Yea I was freaked out, I was 16 and found out that the girl I had had a crush on since I was 12 could see ghosts, yea I was scared, yea I ran. But I'm also really sorry, and if I could take it all back I would."

"Buuuuuuuuuuut you can't. Maybe you should leave dude, I don't think the lady wants to talk to you." Jess' head came up from her arms so fast her neck cracked. That was the last voice she expected to hear defending her tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Zak was watching Jess from across the club, wasn't that hard considering he was about a foot taller than most of the people there, she was talking to the bartender. Then she took her jacket off and Zak's eyes almost bugged out of his head. She was wearing the tiniest top he'd ever seen in his life, deep blood red silk and backless, and cut impossibly low in the front. The shirt wasn't lost on the bar tender either. Zak saw him lick his lips openly as he stared at her chest. _Douchebag_ Zak thought to himself. The guy wasn't even good looking, huge nose, crooked smile, he just gave off a townie vibe. A guy that was content to stay in the same place his whole life, and bang whatever girls he could find after he finished his shift at the local gas station. The fact that Jess was flirting with the ass made Zak want to drink. A lot. She could do so much better than that guy. Not that Zak cared, she could do whatever she wanted. He decided earlier that the unpredictable psychic was no longer his problem. He took his jacket off and hung it over the back of a chair, his black t-shirt straining to contain his biceps as per usual. He smirked to himself when he noticed the majority of the women in the area checking him up whether they were single or not it didn't matter. He could find plenty of distractions here to keep his mind occupied. But he couldn't keep his eyes from the bar try as he might. When he saw Jess stir her drink with her finger then suck that same finger in her mouth something inside him snapped.

He wanted to leave right then, get a on a plane and go home. His head was pounding and his emotions were erratic. He could not center himself for some reason. The second he relaxed something would happen that inexplicably send him over the edge in one way or another. Constantly feeling the emotions and energy of the people around him didn't exactly help either. He could feel the lust coming from the dancers close by and the anger and disrespect some guy by the door felt at not being allowed in the club. He needed alcohol he decided, he needed to numb himself to everything that was going on around him so he could focus on what he was truly feeling. Zak flagged down one of the women carrying a tray of shots, when she noticed she walked over quickly. She was a tall petite brunette, supermodel thin though she didn't look unhealthy.

"Hi, my name is Cara, I'm a huge fan of your show. What can I get you?"

"Thanks always happy to meet a fan. You have any tequila on there?" he asked eyeing the tray, there was a wide array of different sized and colored drinks.

"Of course, this is a bar after all." She replied with a grin.

"Right- can I get two shots of Patron please? What do I owe you?" Zak grabbed for his wallet.

"Not a dime. Anything you want is on the house." She said with a firm nod. He gave her smile and picked up two shots from the tray downing them in rapid succession. He then picked up two more handed one to Cara and kept the other. He held his out to her and said "To Cara, one of the cutest fans I've met in a long time." He winked at her clinked his glass to hers and downed another shot while Cara stared.

"I'm not really supposed to accept drinks from the customers but how often do you get to take a shot with Zak Bagans?!" she squealed tipping her head back as she gulped the tequila. Zak smiled warmed by the girls' general enthusiasm or the liquor he couldn't be sure right now having taken three shots of hundred proof tequila in matter of 45 seconds. Tequila was his kryptonite it did one of two things, made him extremely giggly or really horny. Sometimes both. If he got into vodka, well then, you didn't want to be around him. He was a dick, he admitted it. After he'd sobered up of course, he stayed away from the stuff as best he could.

He didn't have long to debate the pros and cons for the amount of liquor he'd just consumed because Kira swooped down out of nowhere and dragged him out to the center of the dance floor. Zak wasn't a fan of dancing unless it was for fun, he could do that all day. Kira wanted to grind and shake her ass on him. He tried to reciprocate her movements but kept getting lost in his thoughts.

"What are you doing with me, when it's obvious your attention is on the bar, more specifically on Jess?" Kira asked suddenly ceasing her movement completely. She didn't look angry, just curious.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He snapped, hating himself for it immediately.

"Yes you do, you like her. You're only hanging out with me to try to make her jealous. Hate to break it to you, but, that's not going to happen. She doesn't have it in her." Kira chuckled, again not unkindly. Zak was starting to like this girl. She wasn't what he thought before.

"Go talk to her. She knows you would never break into her mother's room. I bet she wants to apologize, she's working up the courage. Vodka helps."

"She looks pretty busy with the bartender." He muttered darkly.

"Who Dylan? They have been around that block so many times I'm surprised they haven't named the street after them. And dude, you are Zak freaking Bagans, nut up buddy." And with that she walked over to Aaron and asked him to dance. Aaron looked thrilled. Kira gave Zak a 'why not' shrug of her shoulders and he gave her a smile. She smiled back and looked toward the bar. Her smile fell and she turned back to Aaron and held up a finger. She walked briskly back over to Zak.

"You're wavering confidence is about to take another hit, you have bigger problems than Dylan." Zak whipped around to look at the bar and saw _another_ guy talking to Jess. This one was Zak's height and build. He could be a problem. The way Jess was looking at him it was like she was seeing the sun for the first time.

"Who the fuck is that?" Zak demanded

"Kevin. They've been friends for a long time. They had it bad for each other but they never dated. Too afraid it would ruin their friendship. But the way he's looking at her now I think he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind." Kira whispered like she was afraid they would hear her. She stole another glance at the bar and continued.

"Kevin knows _all_ her secrets. Dylan is a distraction, Kevin is a force of nature. Maybe it was a bad idea to dress her in clothes from high school." She added, more to herself than to him.

Zak's stomach dropped. He had no chance. This guy was from her past, they had too much history, 'Zak freakin Bagans' or not, he couldn't compete with that. Kira punched him the stomach suddenly.

"Kira what the fuck?" he gasped hunched over slightly.

"Dude you actually deflated, like I watched your whole body just….slump. I think your hair might have even lost some height. If you want her, fight for her. Who cares about those two? They have both left her in a puddle of her own tears. You could be her hero, the guy that's never hurt her and never would." Zak straightened when he heard that both men had hurt her. It pissed him off a little because he couldn't picture Jess doing anything that would warrant being hurt. Sure she was a little fiery but that happened when you had to constantly worry about being assaulted with images from touching people or things. It would put anybody on edge.

Shaking his head slightly, he stood as confidently as he could and walked toward the bar area. When he spotted Jess he suddenly had tunnel vision, she was all he saw. She was glaring at Kevin clearly the spell the man had cast on her was broken. Zak moved faster when he saw Kevin thrust his hands into the air, and Jess put her head down on her arms. He reached them in time to hear the guy say something about how he wished he could take it back.


	7. Authors Note

This is not an update, the previous chapter will be the last if reviews don't pick up, I love this story and have about 3 more chapters already written, though I see no point in posting them if y'all don't care for the story. So if you like it, love it, or hate it let me know in a review or private message. Thanks!

XoXo A.B.N


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

"Holy shit! Aren't you Zak Bagans?" Dylan exclaimed suddenly. Jess inwardly groaned. Her reaction torn between impressed and weirded out that Dylan knew who Zak was. Granted she was grateful to Zak for coming to her rescue but she didn't want to have this conversation with them right now. She turned around sure enough tall, dark, and gorgeous was standing just behind Kevin. Jess decided to get up and introduce him instead of having him be interrogated by the guys.

Getting up from the stool proved to be a challenge. Dylan had made her drinks pretty strong, she was grateful considering they were on the house. The tequila shots Kevin bought her might have been too much though. She stumbled slightly, her sneakers catching on the floor. Jess cussed herself out in her head. She really did not want to make a fool of herself in front of all these men that were watching her every move. But sure enough she couldn't catch herself and fell face first into Zaks' chest. He caught her and held her to him for second so she could get her bearings.

"Whoa there Sea Biscuit." He chuckled into her ear, his breath fanning across her cheek. It made her whole body shudder against him. She was sure he could feel it.

"Thank you for your assistance Mr. Bagans." She breathed back to him. She felt him tense then and smirked to herself. So she had three men after her tonight. Zak had taken off his jacket and was wearing a plain black fitted t-shirt, careful not to touch his exposed skin Jess pushed herself away from him and turned back toward the bar.

"Zak these are my friends. Dylan and Kevin." She gestured to both men in turn. "Guys, this is Zak Bagans. Paranormal investigator, demon hunter, music producer, author and all around badass." She finished her introduction with a bow in

Zaks direction. Standing back up gave her head rush and upon seeing Zaks raised brow at her antics and Dylan and Kevin's reaction she grinned stupidly. The looked jealous. Dylan more so than Kevin. Kevin looked like he was sizing Zak up, trying to figure out just how close Jess was to him.

Jess stepped closer to Zak and recklessly grabbed his hand. She wasn't prepared for what she saw. A flash of her house, her mother's window, a shadow. The door suddenly opening for Zak after he had tried to force open with his shoulder, the smell of rotting meat. Jess let go of Zaks' hand when she saw herself attacking him for something she knew he hadn't done or rather he had tried to do but not for unwarranted reasons. Turning back to face the bar she saw Kevin's concerned look out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm fine." She murmured to him when he reached for her.

"But I should get back to Kira, who knows what kind of trouble she could be getting into."

"She was dancing with Aaron somewhere over there last I saw her." Zak supplied gesturing to a dark corner of the dance floor.

"Care to escort me? I wanted to talk to you about earlier." Without bothering to say goodbye to either of the other two men she took Zaks arm and led him back the way he had come. Jess tried not to focus on how hard is forearm and bicep were, it was like having her arm wrapped around warm stone. She was glad that the alcohol dulled her gift, she wasn't seeing visions anymore just sort of sensing his general emotions in a dull fuzzy kind of way. Looking at his arm she saw a tattoo peeking out from the bottom of his sleeve and her mind went wild with thoughts of what other ink his clothes could be hiding.

"So you wanted to talk?" he asked suddenly stopping in darkened corner of the club.

"Yea but I wanted to find Kira first and make sure she's ok." She replied nervously.

"I think she's fine." Zak nodded a little to the left and turned Jess in the direction he indicated by snaking his hands around her waist gently spinning her. Looking between the grinding bodies of the bar patrons Jess spotted Kira wrapped tightly around Aaron, their lips locked together. Her hands around his neck and his awkwardly on her shoulders like he wasn't sure what to do. Jess couldn't help the laugh that tumbled from lips.

"He is _hopeless_! I really hoped the awkward thing was an act for your guys' show. It's kind of adorable knowing that it's genuine." Zak chuckled behind her and she turned and faced him without looking him in the eye.

"I'm sorry for bitching at you earlier. I know you didn't try to break in, well actually you did, but it was for a good reason. You don't have to find a new place to stay." Jess said in rush her cheeks flaming, she was never good at apologies. She usually didn't say she was sorry because it was very rare that she was. But in this case she felt horrible. Her stomach flipped when Zak put a fingertip under chin and gently tilted her face upward so she was looking up at him.

"I'm sorry I tried to break in even though it was for a good reason. I should have asked first but you seem so against everything I do that I didn't want to upset you, in retrospect that was stupid." He laughed at himself and Jess smiled in return. She couldn't help it.

"Friends?" she asked holding out her hand for him to shake. He looked down at it for second before sweeping her up in his arms. "Friends." He whispered into her hair.

 **A.N- Thank you all who have read/ followed/ reviewed this story, it means a lot and I love you all**

 **xoxo A.B.N**


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